Triple play subscriber and policy management system and method of providing same

ABSTRACT

A system and method for simplifying management information discovery in a Triple Play provider network involves configuring an element management system (EMS) database to store DHCP information, and configuring the EMS to serve the information to a subscriber service controller or other operations support services component.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/514,679, filed Sep. 1, 2006, now abandoned.

MICROFICHE APPENDIX

Not Applicable.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates in general to the provision of voice overInternet Protocol (VoIP), High Speed Internet and Video all deliveredover the same communications network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a portion of an exemplary prior art service providernetwork 20 for providing Triple Play services to service subscribers. Aresidential gateway (RG) in a service subscriber's residence 50 markssubscriber traffic before sending it off to a Digital Subscriber LineAccess Multiplexer (DSLAM) 100 to which it is connected via a local loop102. Typically, each of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) traffic,television (TV) broadcast or video on demand (VoD) traffic, as well ashigh speed internet traffic are uniquely marked to distinguish eachservice from other traffic. Marking the traffic enables an EthernetService Switch 104 to provide proper quality of service (QoS) for eachtype of traffic and to direct each type of traffic to the appropriatesystems in the network.

There is generally one residential gateway (RG) 106 and one DSLAM 100port per service subscriber residence 50. When traffic exits through theDSLAM, a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) ID is assigned to eachtraffic flow from each subscriber. At the Ethernet Service Switch 104,one Service Access Point (SAP) 108 is provisioned per subscriber. TheEthernet Service Switch 104 divides the traffic into flows on a persubscriber basis according to the type of traffic and sends the trafficflows to their respective destinations (e.g., application servers 132via service routers 130) in tunnels through the service providernetwork. A deep packet inspection (DPI) component 110 monitors trafficto detect viruses, monitor Quality of Service (QoS) per subscriber flow,and perform similar functions. The Subscriber Service Controller (SSC)112 includes a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Server 114 forassigning Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to the RGs 106 at theirrequest, and a Policy Manager 116 applies policies to the various TriplePlay services and service subscribers.

Elements of the service provider network are managed using an ElementManagement System (EMS) 124, which stores network element information inan EMS database 126, in a manner known in the art.

The Triple Play subscriber and policy management system (SSC) 112requires complete information about all resources used by a subscriberto provide monitoring and management of Triple Play Services for thesubscriber. However, this information is scattered throughout multipleentities in the customer network and operations support system (OSS)118—e.g. the RG (residential gateway) 106 used by the subscriber, theDSLAM 100 port assigned to the subscriber, the SAP (Service AccessPoint) 108 assigned to the subscriber, the aggregating Ethernet serviceswitch 104 serving the subscriber, etc. Further compounding this problemis the number of subscribers that need to be supported, which can be upto 17 million subscribers per SSC 112.

Consolidating this information in the SSC requires complex software thatis difficult to design, expensive to develop and must include modules topull the information from other OSS components, such as a customerlightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) database, a subscriberprovisioning system 122 and/or an inventory database.

Alternatively, it has been proposed that modules be developed in otherOSS components to push required information to the SSC 112. Eitherapproach, however, requires the development of almost N**2 softwaremodules to facilitate information exchanges between N OSS softwarecomponents.

It is therefore highly desirable to provide a less complex way ofcapturing service topology information needed by a Subscriber ServiceController for IP address assignment, policy management, etc. in theprovision of Triple Play services.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a system and method forcapturing service topology information needed by a Subscriber ServiceController to enable Triple Play residential gateway IP addressassignment, Triple Play service subscriber policy management, etc.

The invention therefore provides a system for controlling, on a persubscriber basis, the delivery of Triple Play services via a data packetnetwork, comprising: a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)server; an element management system (EMS) having a database configuredto store DHCP information about a subscriber rural gateway and digitalsubscriber line access module (DSLAM) used to provide the Triple Playservices to the subscriber; and a Subscriber Service Controller (SSC)associated with the DHCP server, the SSC being configured to uploadper-subscriber DHCP information periodically, or as required, from theEMS database, whereby the uploaded information is used to performfunctions to control delivery of the Triple Play services.

The invention further provides a method of managing Triple Play serviceprovision, comprising: configuring an element management system (EMS)database to store DHCP information about network elements used toprovide Triple Play service to each service subscriber; and configuringa service subscriber controller to request the DHCP information from theEMS database and to use the information to perform functions to controldelivery of the Triple Play services.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description, taken in combinationwith the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a prior art network configuration forproviding Triple Play service to service subscribers;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a network configuration in accordancewith the invention for providing Triple Play service to servicesubscribers; and

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating principle steps in a method inaccordance with the invention.

It should be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like featuresare identified by like reference numerals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The invention provides a method and system for utilizing the database ofan Element Management System (EMS) to capture service topologyinformation needed by a Triple Play Subscriber Service Controller (SSC).This is efficient from both an operational and implementationperspective because the EMS already communicates with OperationalSupport System applications, such as the Provisioning application.Consequently, the EMS already has at least a part of the informationrequired to identify the residential gateway, DSLAM port, and serviceaccess port on a per subscriber basis for the SSC.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a service provider network 20 a forproviding Triple Play service in accordance with the invention. Theservice provider network 20 a is similar to the service provider network20 described above with reference to FIG. 1, except that a database 126a maintained by an Element Management System (EMS) 124 a stores DHCPoption 82 [RFC 3046] or DHCP option 60 [RFC 1533] information that isprovided by the EMS 124 a on demand by the SSC 112 or any other OSS 118component.

Specifically, a provisioning application 122 a is provisioned to storeprotocol information—e.g. the DHCP Option 82 information—in the EMS 124a database 126 a to capture topological affinity of a SAP 108 to othernetwork resources. The EMS 124 a does not interpret this information inany way. The EMS 124 a only serves the information to the SSC 112 ondemand, thus providing the missing key for subscriber resourcesinformation without being aware of the service it is providing in doingso. The SSC 112 interprets this information to discover an associatedEthernet service switch 104 and a SAP 108 and related elements thatprovide service to the service subscriber.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart further illustrating the invention and itsapplication to the provision of Triple Play services to servicesubscribers. The EMS 124 a database 126 a is first configured to storeDHCP information, in particular DHCP Option 82 information (200).Critical network elements are then configured to populate the EMSdatabase with the DHCP information (202). OSS 118 components are alsoconfigured to populate the EMS database with DHCP information (204).Thereafter, the EMS 124 a is configured to serve the DHCP information onrequest from the SSC 112, or another OSS 118 application (206). Asexplained above, the EMS 124 a does not interpret in any way the DHCPinformation it stores and only serves it without awareness of thepurpose of the DHCP information served.

The SSC 112 and other OSS components are then configured to request DHCPinformation from the EMS on an as needed basis (208).

The DHCP information data can be further extended using orderedpartitioning or replication. In the case of partitioning, multiplerelationship elements, called <Tags>, are separated for the use ofdiscovering applications like the SSC 112 (210). Each protocol flow isassociated with data within the data field and the <Tags> are used askeys for respective protocol flows. The protocol information is eitherimplicit or encoded as part of the key.

In the replication case, the data field is simply repeated in multipleinstances to achieve similar results (212).

The data field can be further extended by adding type information to thefield for the purpose of simplifying discovery. (214) In this case, thediscovery process captures both the required data and the protocolrelationships associated with the required data.

Thereafter, the network provider network uses the DHCP information tomanage Triple Play subscriber services (216).

The invention will now be further described by the way of three specificexamples.

Example 1

The provisioning application 122 a stores dynamic host configurationprotocol (DHCP) Option 82 information as coded in the edge device (DSLAM100, Ethernet service switch 104, etc) in the EMS 124 a database 126 a.The DHCP Option 82 information indicates the DSLAM 100 and portinformation within DHCP Option 82 sub options 1 & 2. A DHCP leaserequest contains the Option 82 information which the SSC 112 may combinewith the local EMS 124 a data to derive the Ethernet service switch 104,SAP 108 and DSLAM 100 information. This allows SSC 112 to perform policyactions upon either the SAP 104 or the DSLAM 100, as required, withoutdata filling the SSC 112 with the information.

Example II

The EMS 124 a database 126 a can similarly be configured to store DHCPOption 60 information provided by the RG 106, a host or other device.This provides the SSC 112 with a means for discovering virtual interfaceto end point mappings.

For example, a RG 106 option 60 field can be data filled into thedatabase 126 a and used to identify the RG 106 to a next generationnetwork architecture (TR59) compliant element management system (EMS).

As a further example, a RG 106 certificate can be data filled into thedatabase 126 a and used to relay 822.1×, Extensible AuthenticationProtocol (EAP) or similar port-based authentication methods back to theRG 106.

Example III

The method in accordance with the invention can be similarly used forany interface technology through the inclusion of a data field in theEMS database. Similarly, standard description fields available in manysystem interfaces such as Simple Network Management Protocol InterfacesGroup-Management Information Base (SNMP IF MIB) can be leveraged for thepurpose of linking protocol information to the EMS 124 a for discoveryby systems like the SSC 112.

Exemplary Application

An RG 106 in a subscriber's residence 50 requests an IP address from theDHCP Server 114 in the SSC 112. Since the DHCP Server 114 only hasinformation about the SAP 108 that serves the service subscriber's RG106, it must obtain information about the DSLAM 100 port, or optionallythe RG 106 that sent the request, in order to determine a class of thesubscriber before the IP address can be assigned. Consequently, the SSC112 contacts the EMS 124 and uses existing DHCP information in the EMSdatabase 126 a to discover required information about the DSLAM 100port, or the RG 106, respectively.

Although the present invention has been explained with specificreference to Triple Play services, the invention is applicable to assistdiscovery of any interface technology relationship: e.g., at thephysical layer like Ethernet or HDLC, encapsulation-based likeAsynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) Permanent Virtual Circuit (PVC),Ethernet VLAN, virtual interfaces like sub-interfaces or SAPs, or tunnelinterfaces like Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), Generic RoutineEncapsulation (GRE) or Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP)—where it isdesirable to relate the connectivity and network element associationsfor a system like the SSC 112.

The embodiments of the invention described above are therefore intendedto be exemplary only. The scope of the invention is intended to belimited solely by the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A system for controlling, on a per subscriber basis, thedelivery of Triple Play services via a data packet network, comprising:a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server; an elementmanagement system (EMS) having a database configured to store DHCPinformation about a subscriber rural gateway and digital subscriber lineaccess module (DSLAM) used to provide the Triple Play services to thesubscriber; and a Subscriber Service Controller (SSC) associated withthe DHCP server, the SSC supporting a plurality of subscribers, the SSCbeing configured to upload per-subscriber DHCP information periodically,or as required, from the EMS database, whereby the uploaded informationis used to perform functions to control delivery of the Triple Playservices.
 2. The system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising aservice policy manager associated with the DHCP server the servicepolicy manager being configured to upload per-subscriber DHCPinformation periodically, or as required, from the EMS database, toperform functions to control delivery of the Triple Play services. 3.The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the EMS database is configuredto store at least one of DHCP Option 82 information and DHCP Option 60information.
 4. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the EMSdatabase is further configured to store DHCP Option 82 sub option 1 and2 information.
 5. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the EMS isconfigured to only serve the DHCP information.
 6. The system as claimedin claim 1 further comprising network elements configured to pass DHCPinformation to the EMS for storage in the EMS database.
 7. The system asclaimed in claim 1 further comprising operations support servicescomponents configured to pass DHCP information to the EMS for storage inthe EMS database.
 8. A method of managing Triple Play service provision,comprising: storing, by an element management system (EMS) database, ofDynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) information about networkelements used to provide Triple Play service to each service subscriber;and requesting, by a service subscriber controller (SSC) supporting aplurality of subscribers, the DHCP information from the EMS database andto use the information to perform functions to control delivery of theTriple Play services, wherein the storing and requesting are beingperformed by at least one processor or hardware.
 9. The method asclaimed in claim 8 further comprising configuring network elements topass DHCP information to the EMS to populate the EMS database.
 10. Themethod as claimed in claim 8 wherein storing, by the element managementsystem (EMS) database, of the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)information comprises configuring the database to store DHCP Option 82information.
 11. The method as claimed in claim 10 wherein configuringthe database to store the DHCP Option 82 information further comprisesconfiguring the EMS database to store DHCP Option 82, sub option 1 and 2information.
 12. The method as claimed in claim 10 further comprisingconfiguring the EMS database to store DHCP Option 60 information. 13.The method as claimed in claim 10 further comprising adding data tags tothe DHCP information.
 14. The method as claimed in claim 10 furthercomprising replicating the DHCP information.
 15. The method as claimedin claim 10 further comprising adding type information to the DHCPinformation to define protocol relationships used by the SSC fordiscovery.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein the requesting, by theSSC supporting the plurality of subscribers, the DHCP information fromthe EMS database and to use the information to perform functions tocontrol delivery of the Triple Play services further comprises:deriving, at the SSC, edge device information based, at least in part,on the DHCP Option 82 information.
 17. The method of claim 12, whereinthe requesting, by the SSC supporting the plurality of subscribers, theDHCP information from the EMS database and to use the information toperform functions to control delivery of the Triple Play servicesfurther comprises: discovering virtual interface to end point mappingsbased on the configuring the EMS database to store DHCP Option 60information.